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2010 London 2010 Ohio Championship 2010 Reds Wifflefest 2010 National Championship
Tourney Results COWL Teams now Nationally ranked - click for list London Tourney Return to Top The COWL was represented by 2 teams at this year's London tourney - a mixture of PVB and the U players, & the Legends. Both teams went 2-1 in pool play with PVB receiving the 28th seed in the 32 team tourney and the Legends checking in at seed #17. Wind was again an aggravation with both teams playing multiple games on fields where HRs were impossible to hit. PVB lost to the Cubs in round robin play, but rebounded well to eventually win 3 games in the tourney. PVB lost in the tourney to the Astros and to the Yankees, renewing an old rivalry that goes back to the our little Fenway from the last tourney of 2009. PVB went a very respectable 3-2 in the tourney. The Legends drew undefeated 4th overall seed Wild Things in the opening round, and proceeded to thump them 19-2. After another winner's bracket victory led to the elite 8, the Legends were paired against eventual champion Suns Out, Guns Out. After leading the entire game, and in spite of a number of highly questionable calls by an umpire 60 feet away hiding under an awning to avoid rain drops, SOGO came from behind in the 7th inning to defeat the Legends 8-7. The Legends then won a game in the loser's bracket but again were nipped in extra innings after top 5 finisher SkySox scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 7th.
NWHBF Ohio State Championship Return to Top
On August 27th 3 COWL teams participated in the 2010 National Wiffleball Association Ohio State fast pitch tourney held at Joe Nuxhall Park in Hamilton, OH. The U and GDE participated as their league teams while the Legends picked up Dave Fisher from PVB and Eric Young of W2W to round out their team. All 3 teams made a huge impact and the comment was made to me that our league must be dog-eat-dog if the 3 teams that went are representative of what our league is like. My comment was, "You have no idea !" Even though every one except the Driggs boys (Legends) were playing in their 1st fast pitch tourney, the teams represented themselves very well, tallying a combined record of 16-6. The U finished in the top 6. GDE lost to the eventual champion, the Bluebirds in the finals of the loser's bracket. The Bluebirds were placed in the loser's bracket by a 15-5 drubbing at the hands of the Legends. Due to darkness the double elimination tourney was changed to sudden death, and the Bluebirds began the game with 9 unanswered runs, eventually defeating the Legends 9-4 in the championship, leaving the Legends as the 2010 NWHBF Ohio State Runner-Up, with an automatic birth to the National tourney. Congratulations to The U, GDE and the Legends / W2W / PVB !! Red's Wifflefest Return to Top The COWL was represented by the Legends at this year's Wifflefest, a benefit held for the Reds Community Fund. This year's event attracted 117 teams, making it the largest wiffleball tournament in the nation. The big prize in this medium-fast pitch event is at that the final 4 teams get to finish the tournament at the replica Great American Ballpark constructed in the Duke Energy Convention Center during Reds Winterfest, where upwards of 15,000 Reds fans visit to get autographs of current and former Reds players and see other nifty Reds stuff. Last year the Legends made it to the final four, falling in the semi-finals to eventual champions Unfinished Business 17-13. The Legends once again went 3-1 during pool play, losing to 5th seed Whiffenpoofs 5-4. After several lightning delays, the Legends managed to win 3 games in the single elimination tourney, advancing to the sweet 16 after being seeded 19th and defeating the 6th seed Backyard Bombers 6-2 and 11th seed Madison Maulers 5-1. Lightning then moved into the area and play was suspended. The final 16 teams have been invited to Redsfest on December 5th to continue the tourney. The Legends will represent COWL at this event. At Redsfest on December 4th, the Legends were paired against 5th seed Calimity Joes. The Legends got out to a fast start, scoring 4 runs in the top of the 1st and never looking back. The game was never close with a final score of 14-4. In the championship game the Legends drew top seed Mason Maulers. After a slow start of 7-0 the Legends stormed back in the top of the 3rd with 5 runs to narrow the score to 7-6. After a single run in the bottom of the 4th for the Maulers made the score 8-6, Phil led off the final frame with a single. Both Levi and Jerry hit monster shots off the ceiling of the convention center, the only 2 shots to achieve this feat during the round. Unfortunately, both towering HRs rebounded back into fair play with one resulting in a catch for an out and the other in a fielder's choice ground out. All involved got a good laugh at the rotten luck and the Legends once again were snake bitten and finished as the best man instead of the groom. NWHBF National Championship Return to Top
On Saturday, September 25th, a combination of players from GDE and the Legends participated in the 2010 National Wiffleball Association National Championship in Florence, KY. The Legends / GDE got off to a fast start, winning 2-1 in a pitching duel in game 1, with Phil King scoring the winning run on a line drive off the center field fence from the bat of Levi Driggs. The second pool game placed them against Son of a Pitch (SOAP), the 2009 NWHBF National Runner-Up. Dave Page pitched an admirable game but the team lost 9-2. The LeGDE rebounded against the host team Savage Blunders, winning 19-2 with every member (Blake Lansing, Eric Lewis, Dave Page, Levi Driggs, Phill King, Jerry Driggs) hitting at least 1 HR and Dave and Jerry hitting multiples. The LeGDE gained the 3rd seed, but somehow wound up in the same bracket with #1 seed SOAP and the nationally 5th ranked teamed, the Purple Mooses. After winning their first round game, the LeGDE grappled in a fierce struggle with the Purple Mooses, with Jerry Driggs delivering a 2 out left-handed double off the right field fence with bases loaded, providing the final cushion of 7-3. Phill King preserved the victory by catching a long fly over his shoulder on a full out sprint against the fence, and turning to throw out a runner who had not tagged up.l LeGDE then engaged in a titantic struggle against SOAP in the semi-finals, jumping out to a 4 run lead in the top of the 1st, courtesy of a 2 run homer off the bat of Eric Lewis that curved 30+ feet from left field foul back into fair play. SOAP responded with a 2 run inning off a 2 run Moonshot aided HR. For the next 3 innings SOAP chipped away at the lead, eventually going ahead 5-4 in the bottom of the 4th on another Moonshot aided HR. The game ended with Blake Lansing on 2nd and the SOAP pitcher stabbing a sharp grounder off the bat of Jerry for the final out. All agreed the game was the defacto championship, and the results of the championship game bore this truth out. SOAP led 4-0 after 1 inning, 8-1 after 2 and eventually won in a run away 16-3. All were also in agreement that the difference in the game was the Moonshot bat - with much more pop than a regular yellow wiffle bat with athletic tape around the barrell (what we used).
Legends / GDE finished in the top 4 nationally and missed the National Championship by the narrowest of margins...again showing some of the best wiffleball is played in good ole' Chillicothe. The NWHBF president said both GDE and the Legends will be ranked in the top 10 nationally after their impressive showings in the Ohio State and national championship events.
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